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Forum:Moving away from Wikia
I created a Warhammer 40,000 fanfiction wiki here back in the day, until Wikia decided to force the Oasis skin on everyone. I moved out, along with a lot of other people who were unable to work with the new skin, and foresaw the problems it would cause. There's also problems specific to Wikia, that would not be present in other wiki hosts, especially one I could offer for this wiki. For a story writing/fanfiction wiki like this, the biggest problem is the fact that Wikia does not allow the content license to be changed, and sets this and all other wikis as uncopyrighted, free use. That means that none of us can retain proper ownership of our work. I personally like this site, and I like the concept of Fallout fanfiction/storyline a lot. However, the lack of proper ownership of contributions has made me hesitant to write. I'm sure that this has affected other potential contributors too. To get back to the skin issue, it's a serious problem for any wiki to have a non standard Media Wiki skin, because most people are already familiar with the layout of Wikipedia and other standard Media Wiki websites, and these Wikia wikis just cause confusion and can turn away even experienced Media Wiki editors, such as myself, over little things that have a big impact, such as not being able to find the proper buttons and controls. With the new wiki I started, I can also set up additional hosted wikis, each with a subdomain, just like Wikia does (subdomain.wikia.com). I would also allow much grater control over wikis, including setting the wiki to only be editable by registered users, setting the new Vector skin (same as Wikipedia) as default, setting Monobook as default, and adding Media Wiki extensions upon request. I've noticed that the membership seems to be low, and I'm sure it would be able to improve with a better hosted wiki. I would do a much better job hosting this wiki than Wikia, since I am both a sympathetic user of this site, and not out to make millions of dollars in advertising profit or whatever Wikia wants to do. There's another thing, I can host the wiki with no advertising, though you would be free to add advertisements to the site if you wanted to. I don't think Wikia allows additional advertising. What are your thoughts on moving? Sascha Kreiger Contact 04:59, May 18, 2011 (UTC) :Also, if The Vault also wanted to move, I could offer a domain name, with the specialized and associated wikis such as this one with subdomains. Here's an example: falloutvault.com and fanon.falloutvault.com :Sascha Kreiger Contact 23:20, June 2, 2011 (UTC) No thanks. Composite 4 :Why not? ::Sascha Kreiger Contact 14:49, June 3, 2011 (UTC) :::Ausir is the founder of both the Fallout Fanon and Fallout wikis, and it isn't like this domain would suddenly cease to exist. Especially since Ausir is a wikia staff member. :::Either way, I vote no alongside C4. A unilateral move would disrupt the relationship between this wiki and The Vault, and the new domain wouldn't be nearly as "mainstream" as this one, as this one has been in place for a lot longer. Basically, the only thing that would happen is that the admins/b'crats would be giving up their flags here on a much more well-known wiki for ones on a less well-known one. Йура15px|link=User talk:YuriKaslov 15:14, June 3, 2011 (UTC) ::::The current admins would remain admins on the new site. Also, the layout of Wikia wikis is not mainstream, and requires total relearning for users of Mediawiki, if they even recognize it as a Mediawiki site. :::::Sascha Kreiger Contact 16:21, June 3, 2011 (UTC) :::::Not what I meant at all. :::::Wikia wikis are usually the second link in a Google search -- after the Wikipedia link. The only exceptions are when the subject has an "official" wiki. :::::The new wiki wouldn't be the second link, it might be the fifth or sixth or lower, even. And this wiki (as a domain) would remain the second link on the search results. :::::And as for being admins on the other wiki, so what? Same tools as this wiki. Only difference is that they'll be on a less-well-known domain name. And at that, if all of them left, then users from God-knows-where cold come in and take over this wiki with no contest. Йура15px|link=User talk:YuriKaslov 18:31, June 3, 2011 (UTC) ::::::You could get the new website to come up first even; all you have to do is maximize the number of internal links. Also, putting a link to the mainpage at the bottom of every article helps. It's not a automatic thing. Also, the fact that the new website would be edited more frequently would also help. Plus, if the vault moved, the domain name for it would quickly become more well known than "wikia." Until I understood the whole Wikia thing, I had to do a search every time I wanted to get to the vault. :::::::Sascha Kreiger Contact 15:45, June 4, 2011 (UTC) ::::::::Assuming no aspiring bureaucrat decides to take over the domain and somehow makes it better or more attractive than it was under this administration. Plus, Ausir -- the lead bureaucrat and founder of the Vault -- wouldn't move the Vault, because he would BE FIRED. Йура15px|link=User talk:YuriKaslov 18:28, June 4, 2011 (UTC) Basically the reason why I don't want to move is because there is no need to. I treat the wikia skin change the same way I do when facebook changes things, I get pissed about it for a few days and completely forget about it afterwards. We are not nearly active enough to warrant a domain change which is honestly needless for us. We're happy here, we're connected to the Vault and that brings in the occasional member to keep us relevant. Things are nice, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Composite 4